Expansion-joint for roofing-sheets



(No Model.)

J. WHITE. EXPANSION JOINT FOR ROOFING SHEETS. No. 511,884. Patented Dec. 26, 1893.

INITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES YVHITE, OF BROOKLYN, NEIV YORK.

EXPANSION-JOINT FOR ROOFING-SHEETS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 511 ,384, dated December 26, 1893.

Application filed March 23, 1892. Renewed May 29, 1893. Serial No. 475,980. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES WHITE,a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, Kings county, New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Expension-Joints for Roofing-Sheets, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying dgawings, forming a part of the same.

The object of this invention is to furnish an economical and effective expansion joint whereby the ends of roofing sheets may be connected together with a weather joint, and yet capable of yielding under the strains of expansion and contraction. It has been c0mmon heretofore in formingsuch transverse joints at the ends of roofing sheets, to fold over the entire end of the sheet from two to six inches, and to hook such lapped ends together, thus forming four thicknesses of the metal at the joint, and involving a considerable waste of the material in the sheets.

In my invention I form the usual look upon the ends of the sheets, and insert between the lapped ends a separate joint strip from one and a half to three inches wide according to the steepness of the roof. With this construction I require only three thicknesses of metal in the joint, and as the joint strip consists of small pieces, it may be made of material which would be otherwise wasted. I thus produce the desired joint with a suitable saving in the material of the sheets themselves.

The invention will be understood by reference to the annexed drawings, in which Figure 1 is aperspective view of some roofing sheets united by my invention, and secured upon a roof, the nearer edges of the sheets being shown in section to exhibit the expansion joint. Fig. 2 is a diagram representing in the full size the relation of the edges of the sheets and the small amount of metal required at the lap independent of the joint strip. Fig. 3 is a similar diagram showing a roofing board with the joint in section secured thereon by a cleat. Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the cleat; Fig. 5 a perspective view of the joint strip; and Fig. 6 a diagram showing the double lap expansion joint heretofore used.

a represents the roofing boards, and s the chiefly to the transverse joints.

roofing sheets secured thereon, and furnished with transverse joints 6. The edges of the sheets are united by a standing seam b, but the edges of the sheets may be united by any kind of joint, as the present invention relates the sheets-are bent over by suitable tools into short hooks c and 'c' as when intended for a single seam, and the upper sheet is overlapped upon the lower sheet sufliciently, as shown in Fig. 2, to insert the joint strip d which is shown in its proper position in Figs. 1 and 3. By its relation to the hooks cand c, the joint strip performs the same service as the long double lap heretofore. used, and which is shown in Fig. 6.

A comparison of Figs. 3 and 6 will show that three thicknesses onlyof metal are re quired to form the joint with my construction, while the wide lock shown in Fig. 6 requires four thicknesses.

With the wide lock it has been common to unite the ends of the sheets across their entire width so that in afterward forming a standing seam the four thicknesses of metal would extend into such seam; but in my construction the joint strip d may be made only of sufficient length to extend across the flat portion of the sheet, indicated by the dotted lines 25' in Fig. 1, thus avoiding the increase of thickness in the flanges of the longitudinal seams. A certain amount of metal is thus not only saved, but the formation of the longitudinal joints is facilitated by the uniform thickness of the metal therein.

With the wide lock it is difficult to apply a suitable cleat to the ends of the sheets, but in applying the sheets to the roof by my construction the short hook c is peculiarly adapted to engage with a cleat which can be nailed to the roof close to the hook. Such a cleat, f, is shown in perspective in Fig. 4, and consists in a small strip of metal with one end bent into a hook g to engage the hook c upon the under roofing sheet, as shown in Fig. 3, and a nail h is inserted through the cleat close to the hook thus securing the ends of the under sheets firmly to the roof. In preparing the sheets, the joint strips are made about one and a half inches wide for steep roofs, and wider, up to three inches,for roofs of less pitch.

The ends of In laying the sheets upon the roof after the ends are formed with suitable hooks, the

lowest sheet is first secured in place with one or more cleats attached to its upper end and nailed to the roof, as indicated by the dotted linesf in Fig. 1. The joint strip is then inserted and the lower end of the next sheet is overlapped upon the first one engaging the joint strip, as shown in Fig. 1. The upper end of such second sheet is then secured to the boards by one or more cleats like the first, and the entire roof is thus covered with the sheets having the transverse joints protected from the weather by the joint strips d. It will be seen by reference to Figs. 1 and 3, that the lower end of each sheet is free to expand and to contract, being able to lift the lower edge of the joint strip when contracting; the same as with the double lap joint shown in Fig. 6.

Considerable economy of metal is secured by my construction, as it has been common with fiat roofs to sometimes forma wide lock six inches in width, all of the metal being absorbed from the ends of the sheets and thus subtracting a total of eighteen inches from their length.

By my invention scarcely any material is absorbed by the ends of the sheets in forming the expansion joint, and the material used for the joint strip is in pieces of such size that it may in great part be formed from the waste material from a roofers stock. My joint also furnishes a means of conveniently and securely attaching the upper end of each sheet to the roof, by means of the cleat f and the hook 0' close to the edge of the sheet, while a cleat cannot be secured to the extreme upper end of the sheet by engagement therewith when the double lap joint is employed.

The invention also furnishes a means of conveniently connecting the roofing sheets with the gutter by an expansion joint, the joint strip in such case being extended transversely across the lower ends of a considerable number of the roofing sheets, as indicated by the lines 61' in Fig. 1.

The upper edge of the gutter h and the lower edge of the roofing sheets are formed with the usual look as indicated at c, c, in

Fig. 2, and the outer edge of the joint strip and the ends 3 of the roofing sheets are preferably bent downward a little way into the gutter, as shown in Fig. 1.

The term adjacent ends of the sheets which I have employed in the claims is intended to include the edge of the gutter and the lower ends of the roofing sheets when united by means of the joint strip as shown in Fig. 1.

Having thus set forth the nature of my invention, what I claim herein is- 1. The expansion joint for roofing sheets, consisting in the joint strip din combination with the hooks c, 0', formed upon the adjacent ends of the sheets, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, with the joint strip cl, and the ends of the sheets provided with hooks c, c, of the cleat f attached to the under hook and secured to the roof adjacent thereto, substantially as herein set forth.

3. The combination,with a series of roofing sheets having longitudinal scams or joints, of the transverse joints formed with a hook c, c, and the joint strips cl extended between the longitudinal seams, substantially as herein set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES WVHITE.

Witn esses Anson O. KITTREDGE, THos. S. CRANE. 

